Sol, the $350 solar-powered rugged Ubuntu laptop that won’t be usable in the sun

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If you’re gifted with independently manipulable eyebrows, now would be the time to raise a single brow. An inventor in Canada claims to have created a solar-powered Ubuntu laptop that can run directly from power generated by its built-in solar panels, or recharge its 10-hour battery with just two hours of sunshine. If that wasn’t enough, the laptop — pretentiously dubbed Sol — is ruggedized for military and off-road use and you also get built-in GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, and 3G/4G LTE. The best bit, though, is the price: The Sol will cost just $350 — or $400 if you want a submersible, waterproof model.

Your bullshit meter, which has been steadily climbing, has probably just exploded — and rightly so, because this laptop is almost certainly vaporware. While it’s technically possible to build a solar-powered laptop, it is incredibly unlikely that the world’s first solar-powered laptop would enter the market at just $350. This isn’t just a cheap laptop, either — while the CPU (an old Atom D2500) and display (13-inch, 1366×768) are nothing to brag about, built-in GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and 4G LTE are almost unheard of at the $350 price point. (Read: What is LTE?) The Sol is ruggedized, too, with “durable, reinforced materials, complex military industrial design and architecture” — and, as you probably know, ruggedized, military-oriented gear is expensive. A brand-new Panasonic Toughbook — the standard military-issue laptop that you see in TV shows and movies — will set you back around $5,000.

Putting our skepticism aside for a moment, though, here’s how the Sol works — in theory. Externally, the Sol looks like a pretty standard plastic laptop that has had some aggressive-looking “ruggedized” panels glued on. When you need to recharge the battery, there’s a flap on top of the laptop that flops down to reveal four solar panels. These panels produce enough juice to power the laptop directly from the sun, or to recharge the battery in two hours. This part of the equation is actually somewhat feasible: Solar panels can produce around 10 watts per square foot, and a laptop with those specs probably consumes around 20-30 watts.

On the software side of things, the Sol runs Ubuntu. Other than that, though, and the almost unbelievable list of specs, we know almost nothing about the Sol. We don’t know how rugged it is, we don’t know when it’s coming to market, and we have absolutely no idea how WeWi (the Canadian company behind it) is going to sell it for $350. It doesn’t help that all of the images on the Sol website appear to be 3D renders, too — and that the only real photo of the Sol laptop (right) is clearly a not-rugged-at-all prototype.

The Sol is being targeted, unsurprisingly, at developing countries that have lots of sunlight, such as Ghana in Africa. With a cellular modem, the Sol could really be quite a boon for villagers that are miles away from the nearest internet connection. The added bulk of the solar panel array, the reduced need for ruggedization, and the prevalence of electricity and internet connectivity, probably mean that the Sol won’t ever be a success in the Western world. Plus, I think WeWi might’ve overlooked one deal-breaking flaw when it comes to solar-powered laptops: Have you ever tried using a laptop when you’re sitting in direct sunlight?

Tagged In

No mention of screen brightness? From what I understand, a brightness of at least 400-500 nits is needed for a screen to be sunlight readable. And a matte screen is also preferable to reduce reflections. Anyhow, a really bright screen on full power consumes a lot of juice, so I can’t see a solar powered laptop working very well yet.

I’ve been looking into this for a while – there’s already several solar chargers available for laptops, but they all only put out a few watts. The most interesting I’ve found was a backpack that has a solar panel and battery on it – the battery powers the laptop so you get extended use. The solar panel charges the battery, and you can connect additional solar panels. Plus it’ll charge the laptop while you’re carrying it.

As for sunlight readable screens, it’s hard to find a good laptop that has one. Most laptop manufacturers don’t list the brightness of their screens, so you have to email them which takes a while. Plus the trend lately seems to be towards retina screens, which look nice but aren’t as bright as lower resolution screens, plus they consume more power. So things don’t seem great for people like me who are looking for a good outdoors solution.

Marc Guillot

I guess you will have to make them with e-Ink screens (low power consumption and perfectly readable under direct sunlight).

I know that color e-Inks have very poor colors and refresh rate, but anyway it could be a very fine niche product.

iron_dinges

They’ll make the money by selling “glare shelter” blankets that cover the screen and the user.

ronch

‘Bullshit’?

You know, you can PROBABLY use the word bullshit in an actual, real world conversation but there are times when using such profanity is a big NO-NO. In an article such as this from a relatively well-known tech site? No. Just no.

Ed, what kind of proof-reading are you guys doing? ET just lost my respect.

Joel Hruska

I’m fine with it.

$350 for a 20-30W solar panel system for a laptop with all those functions and a screen that’s usable in sunlight, but no actual product?

Yeah. BS.

ronch

I don’t find this product feasible either, but the article could have been more professionally written.

Xplorer4x4

“I’m fine with it.”
From a profanity stand point, I could care less. However, as ronch pointed out, a professional journalist should be more conservative with profanity.

Phil

From a logical standpoint, when you say you could care less it tells me that you care.
I’m not sure someone committing this literary faux pas has any claim over what constitutes good writing. :)

Xplorer4x4

I am sorry I can’t get my head far enough up your ass to see your point of view. :) I stand behind my statement 100%. I curse like a damn sailor every day. However, if I am having a conversation with a professional in a professional setting, I conduct my self in a professional manner by staying away from profanity. If I am conversing with a friend, I could care less.

For example, a few years back my girlfriend and I were driving by a user car lot. I was pretty set on finding a used Chevy Trailblazer and they had one. So I pull in, scope it out, and a salesman comes out. I tried to ask him some questions about the vehicle such as why the check engine light was on. His response was “Fuck if I know, we just got it in yesterday.” The fact he did not know how to conduct himself as a professional, probably because he was looking at a young man with a tattoo and eyebrow piercing, not to mention he knew nothing about the vehicle, I took my business elsewhere.

Phil

I’m sure you do stand behind your statement.

I also stand behind logic in pointing out how incorrect the statement “I could care less” is when you use it in this context.

You just wrote a whole lot of stuff and I’m afraid I don’t see the relevance. I just couldn’t care less how much you like or dislike swearing.

Xplorer4x4

Relevance: A professional, in this case or the case of the used car salesman, typically does not need to resort to profanity. It makes them look uneducated or unprofessional. I say *typically(note this word)* because exceptions exist. As the old saying, there is an exception to every rule. For example, if I watch an action movie, I have a hard time taking it serious if the bad guy says “I am going to kick your butt.” This is an exception.

Assuming that a fuck cannot be negative, Spiderman gives zero fucks and thus could not give fewer fucks. If one equates giving a fuck to caring, then by the transitive property of fucking and caring, Spiderman could not care less.

Just because some lame site that has a lot of profanity in it exists somewhere out there is no excuse for these practices to be acceptable. Journalists SHOULD be professional.

Helwani Nose

No, he shouldnt.

Fratboy behaviour is their trademark across all their sites.
Its just step above Perez Hilton drawing a penis on some celebrities forehead.

Its the Goatse of journalism.

Chris Shakal

I think they just don’t take themselves too seriously.

AdamRadzik22

Yeah, no doubt that it cheapens the content, or at least de-professionalizes it.

crazypete1

Oh no! They lost the respect of “ronch”?
One can barely fathom the implications of such a tragedy! I mean besides the fact that he won’t be making any more stupid and banal comments in their discuss forum..

ronch

No need to be sarcastic, my friend. Their content may be ok for people like you who are less discerning, but in general, journalism like this is not professional and appropriate.

crazypete1

“ronch”………check
“comment”….check
“stupid”………check
“banal”……….check

Guess I was a little too optimistic. *Sigh*

ronch

Are you capable of posting an intelligent comment around here? You’re saying my comments are stupid? Or banal? How is that banal at all? I am pointing out a real issue here about how the article was written and you blast it as stupid and banal? Do you even know what ‘banal’ means? And I suppose your comments are intelligent? They are, in fact, the comments that are actually stupid. Guess you can’t tell the difference between intelligent and stupid. Too bad for you.

As for respect: Use of profanity especially in journalism will really decrease your publication’s credibility and/or worsen people’s perception of it. As for you, people like you need to think (if you can) before making counter-comments.

crazypete1

…woe…I have been vanquished by… *cough*…”ronch”…
…I am no match for his monotonous verbosity!
…I cannot withstand his pedantic pontification!
With each wave of his irrelevant rhetoric, his pedagogical pandering, I find my will bested.
So predictable in his pedestrian arguments!
So dull in his sophomoric sophistry!
And so finally, I, crazypete1, bored to tears by “ronch”, this manifestation of the mundane, will…expire…

*crazypete1 dies –cue weeping women rending hair, etc*

Joel Detrow

So-called “swear words” are just words. Words are tools used for communicating thoughts or ideas. There is nothing wrong with the word bullshit, on its own – only what you associate with the term. Apparently, you see some words as bad, but you should realize that the context and intent behind the words are what should repulse you, if appropriate, not the words themselves.

For example, is “I want to poop in your soda.” really any less offensive than “I want to shit in your soda”? I would argue it is not. The disgusting and vile intent behind the words is the same in either case; the only difference is that the latter phrase more effectively communicates that intent.

But I’m not sure why I’m explaining this to someone who can’t seem to resist the temptation to constantly insult ET’s journalism.

ronch

I am NOT insulting them, am I? So the word ‘bullshit’ is ok for you, but when someone points it out to them as irrespectable, you call it an insult? Don’t you have it backwards?

Bullshit

Please go fuck yourself.

Natty Dread

Bullshit, particularly in the context, is not really profanity. Your threshold is too low.

m0r1arty

The website’s been up for less than a day. Give them the estimated 20 days or so to have it finished before calling it nonsense.

I agree that it doesn’t seem probably or even plausible but they seem to be optimistic enough to have ‘accessories’ on offer.

Might be another Pomegranate phone campaign, only slightly more realistic.

Pierre

The idea to connect the laptop to solar panel may be interesting, but practically, it should be designed as 2 separate devices connected by a cable that allow the user to work inside with the solar panel left somewhere in the sun. The problem is not so much about reading the screen, it is also not very comfortable to stay under the sun at 30ºC or more…

But I agree with the majority of the readers that this kind of ideas deserves more respect.

What I would like to see is a laptop with a 12V or 24V input socket that can be directly connected to a battery pack without passing through the 220V converter.

Best regards,
Pierre

zapper

Unbelievable if true
But if it has bulletproof Kevlar too then they can also sell it like this :
“Stay alive, Strap it to your chest in Africa and use it as bulletproof armor to save yourself from bullets of rebels”
:-X)

ronch

What a lame video. Too much hype about the sun and solar power and how totally revolutionary this thing is (yeah, sure it is). Those are just solar panels! Nothing totally revolutionary. Also, I can’t imagine sitting out in the sun to use this Atom-based machine. Can you imagine that? You’re sweating using your pi$$-slow computer?

Helwani Nose

>Those are just solar panels! Nothing totally revolutionary.

You are missing the point or understand the definition of the word.
Solar panels arent revolutionary. Laptops arent revolutionary.
But solar panels on laptops ARE revolutionary unless you show me someone else who has done the same before.

Btw, thats the ONLY thing that is of any interest in this laptop so most of all their promotion should be based on this and price because it wont be the specs.

-2.

Francisco Marzoa

“But solar panels on laptops ARE revolutionary unless you show me someone else who has done the same before.”

There is no need to be too clever for having the revolutionary idea of attaching a solar panel to a laptop, or any other electrical device. I have owned solar powered calculators and clocks about 30 years ago.

Well, at least those was real devices, not just vaporware like this one.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian Anthony

The video is truly terrible. It basically says nothing about the laptop itself. It’s one of the worst bits of marketing I’ve ever seen :)

qubit86

Liliputing says with a less outraged article that the D2500 was picked not because it uses fewer watts than the most energy efficient modern x86 cpus (like Haswell Atoms), but to keep the cost down. The only problem is that a really budget laptop should be designed when everything is really, finally available at a decent price- that means a Pixel Qi screen <1w, solid state storage <1w, power sipping ARM or x86 cpu <1w, ONE solar panel on the back of the screen and lifepo4 batteries= many hours. part of a complete energy efficient system.

Cal Rankin

Surely it’s not going to be the best laptop, but it’s certainly not bad for being rugged with nice goodies. Maybe Wewi is doing what Google is doing and selling this closer to at-cost. we’re so used to seeing laptops with these specs and durability cost so much because of two things
1.) most companies sell their devices at a fairly big profit, which accounts for a larger price tag.
2.) OS licensing fees. Since it runs Ubuntu, there’s no license to use the OS on the computer, at less cost to the manufacturer, so a lower price.
Not bad

http://www.solarwindhydroenergy.com/ Rajesh K

I guess the solar panels are detachable. If not, they should make it detachable – That will solve the problem of having to use it in ‘hot sun’. Just keep the solar panels outside and connect it to the laptop via a cable. You sit inside and enjoy!

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